Second Annual Entrepreneurs Roundtable

Directing a student-run web and mobile development agency. Creating customized dance performances and lessons in NYC. Supporting the US economy and providing consumers a place to find unique and innovative American-made products.

Meet the finalists of the Ted and Pat Levine Proof of Concept Entrepreneurship Initiative: three female student and alumni entrepreneurs from Pace, who will take part in a roundtable discussion moderated by Allison Haunss, host, Working Woman Report.

Bruce Bachenheimer is a Clinical Professor of Management and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Lab at Pace University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, primarily in the areas of entrepreneurship, management, and strategy. He is also the creator and organizer of the annual Pace Pitch Contest and Pace Business Plan Competition. Mr. Bachenheimer is a member of the Board and past Chair of the New York City Chapter of the MIT Enterprise Forum and has served on the organization’s Global Board. He serves on the Board of Directors & Advisors of LeadAmerica and has served as a consultant to governmental organizations and a variety of new ventures. He has been widely quoted in a variety of domestic and international publications and interviewed on radio and television

Allison Haunss is an Emmy award winning journalist who has reported on some of the biggest stories in the New York area including the mid-air plane/tourist chopper collision over the Hudson River, the attempted car bombing in Times Square as well as the Pope’s 2008 visit to NYC. Allison joined WPIX in November 2007 as a freelance reporter. Prior to filing stories for WPIX, Allison was one of the main weeknight anchors at News 12 Connecticut where she anchored the Monday through Friday news at 5:30 and 10pm. While at News12CT, Allison traveled to Israel for an in-depth Emmy award winning series entitled “Grandma Guard.” The series examined one Stamford, CT woman’s journey through the Israeli civil guard. Before News12CT, Allison spent time as a reporter in Westchester and on Long Island. She has also worked in several TV markets across the country including, Pittsburgh and Sioux Falls. Allison graduated from Duke University. She also earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

She is a senior computer science major at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. She has been the Executive Director at Seidenberg Creative Labs, a student-run web and mobile development agency. After gaining programming and project management skills here, Julie moved on to become a web developer for RentHackr, a start-up dedicating to simplifying the NYC apartment hunt. Embracing a love of web development and a passion for technology education, Julie has been teaching web design and development and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator workshops and seminars to hundreds of people from all over the United States. Appreciating how important design is in software development, Julie is also pursuing an art minor. Julie is also an active member of Kappa Delta sorority and an avid participant in Hackathons.

She has learned Latin dance informally in her living room and formally at Linda D’Amico’s Academy of Dance, where she also studied ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. In her senior year of high school, she was accepted into Broadway Dance Center’s Summer Internship program and into Pace’s Commercial Dance program on merit scholarship. Since then, she has danced for Wells Fargo, Bollywood Funk NYC, Hoop Girlz, RISE, and Mint Dance Company. She has choreographed for Physha P, Broadway Dance Center, and concept videos. In her sophomore year of college, she decided to minor in Arts and Entertainment Management which opened her mind to the idea of owning her own business. This year she received the Pforzheimer Research Honors Grant for Fusion Dance and started her first year of teaching at Shooting Stars NYC.

She is a 2013 MBA graduate in Strategic Management from Pace University. She also holds a BPS in Fashion Merchandising and Business Administration from Marist College where she was the recipient of the prestigious Silver Needle Award. She is currently the Co-Founder and President of 50Roots.com. Christa has 10 plus years of merchandising, design and product management experience within the action sports segment of the fashion industry, working for companies such as Burton Snowboards, Vans and Zoo York. She has a strong understanding of sourcing, manufacturing and product development. A few years into her career she became concerned with the various repercussions and overall effects of extensive outsourcing. In 2013, 50ROOTS.com was born from her desire for high-quality, American-made products developed through responsible business practices.

Christa grew up in the Hudson Valley and currently lives in Poughkeepsie, NY with her husband, Patrick and dog, Roxanne. She enjoys volunteering weekly at the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) in Beacon, NY where she helps care for cats and dogs who are in need of forever homes. In her spare time, Christa likes traveling, snowboarding, practicing yoga and spending time with her family.

Closing Remarks

Marie J. Toulantis, '81

Marie J. Toulantis is an independent consultant on marketing and operations for large commercial websites. Ms. Toulantis is the former chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble.com, (www.bn.com). She had previously been president and chief operating officer of Barnes & Noble.com. She first joined Barnes & Noble, Inc. as an executive vice president with responsibility for finance and was appointed chief financial officer of Barnes & Noble.com in 1999. Prior to working for Barnes & Noble, Ms. Toulantis served as a senior vice president at Chase Manhattan Bank. She is also a member of the board of directors of Francesca's Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: FRAN), a retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Ms. Toulantis earned her BBA in marketing from Pace University in 1981. She was elected to the Pace University Board of Trustees in February 2009 and serves on the Lubin School of Business advisory board.